A Test of Courage
by Jencatd
Summary: To their teachers, tonight was a Test of Courage. For Will, Trang, and the other students of Asher Academy, tonight was a night they wouldn't forget in a hurry.


Author's Note: This was originally written for a fanfic contest on "Back in the Days!", a superhero AU RP I'm in, and tied for first place. The song mentioned later in this fic is "Poi E", a song that's like an unofficial anthem for NZ. You can watch the music video for it here: .com/watch?v=DQLUygS0IAQ

MAIN CAST

William Green & Trang Thi Tran – New Zealand & Vietnam

Alessandro Vargas & Feliciano Vargas – San Marino & North Italy

Francis Bonnefoy & Arthur Kirkland – France & England

SUPPORTING CAST (other teams who have speaking roles)

Matthew Williams & Raivis Galante – Canada & Latvia

Mathias Andersen & Eduard von Bock – Denmark & Estonia

Peter Kirkland & Tino Vainamoinen – Sealand & Finland

Vash & Eva (Lilli) Zwingli – Switzerland & Liechtenstein

* * *

><p>Will looked around the grounds outside the chateau, and saw that the majority of the school had turned out for the "Test of Courage" as the coach who runs the dojo described it. It was originally for the hero and sidekick teams, but after overwhelming requests from heroes and sidekicks who hadn't found a herosidekick to team up with yet to take part the event was opened to the whole school. He wasn't sure what the test of courage entailed, but the sun was setting, and it would be dark soon. Lilli was starting to glow already so she and Vash would have a much easier time in the chateau than everyone else. The students were all chatting with each other waiting for the event to begin.

"... You're not even listening to me, are you?" Will heard Trang sigh in frustration. The two of them had been standing there watching everyone else and waiting for the coach to get started with the event. "They could've at least told us what we have to do! I don't even know if we're dressed right for this, or if our powers work in there, or if we need weapons..."

"I'm half-expecting our powers to be nullified in the chateau, or at least the ones that make movement faster or easier like your portals." Will quickly grew a couple of oranges and offered one to Trang, knowing that she'd probably want something to eat before going into the chateau. "Do you want something to eat before we go in there?"

"Thanks." Trang said and started peeling the orange. The two of them stood there eating peacefully while the other teams were sorting themselves out. Will couldn't help but feel a little nervous about this test. He was one of the school's newest heroes, and before that he'd been a sidekick. He almost felt like he had something extra to prove compared to the other kids who'd been chosen as heroes when they started at the Academy, like he had to work just that much harder to show that he belonged in the hero classes. He was distracted from that thought by an ear-piercing whistle from the coach, and the other students quietened down.

"Listen up all of you, and listen good because we're only going to explain this once! Tonight's test of courage requires you and your partner to enter the chateau, and the exit will vanish. Each team will be given a sheet of paper with clues to find objects that have been hidden throughout the chateau before they go in, and also a two way radio in case there's an emergency and you need to be evacuated from the chateau. Every team's list is unique, and the objects have some significance to each team. When you find them all the exit will re-appear to your team and your team only. The winning team will get to spend a weekend on the mainland together, and I'm sure a lot of you want to have a holiday from school. All teleportation, portal creating, and other such transit powers will be nullified to avoid cheating. When you and your partner's names are called, you will collect your list from the teacher next to the front door, and then enter the chateau. Good luck, and may the best team win!"

As the teams moved closer to the chateau Will saw a lot of familiar faces. He'd gotten to know who the other official hero and sidekick teams were because they had specific classes for the teams, but he mostly only recognised the sidekicks in the other teams as he'd been in classes with them for longer. He saw Mathias and Eduard, Antonio and Natalia (Will hoped she'd never find out he was the one who accidentally groped her in the box trap, though to be fair her butt landed on his hands and no one could move at all so it wasn't his fault), Eirik and Lovino, Vash and Lilli, Matthew and Raivis, Emma and Willem, Nils and Bedisa, and Alfred and Yong Soo.

As the teachers called the names, each team collected their list and disappeared into the chateau. Will wondered how all the teams would fit in the chateau since it didn't look very big on the outside, and wondered if it was like Hogwarts in the sense that Hogwarts was bigger on the inside. He re-adjusted the backpack on his back and mentally ran through its contents: a torch, batteries for the torch which could possibly be used for the two way radio too if needed, water, some food just in case this test takes a long time, a pen, paper, and an extra jacket in case it gets chilly in there.

"William and Trang." The coach said. Finally! The two of them ran over to the entrance of the chateau, collected their list and two way radio from the teacher by the front door, and entered the chateau.

* * *

><p>Alessandro walked down the hallways of the chateau with his partner following close behind, or so he thought. He had asked his cousin Feliciano if he wanted to pair up with him for this test of courage. Feliciano had been enthusiastic before they entered the chateau, but now that the two Italians were in there trying to find everything Feliciano seemed scared of the place, for lack of a better word. He turned around and saw Feliciano standing at the opposite end of the hallway to him.<p>

"Feliciano? What are you doing over there?" Alessandro said. He wondered what shadow had scared his cousin this time, and walked back down the hallway towards him. They had already found two items on their list so far which were an Italian flag and an empty Torte Tre Monti tin, and they were in Alessandro's backpack. He had been somewhat disappointed by the empty tin, and planned to complain a little about it when this was over. To him if you were going to make someone find a cake tin there'd better be a cake in it!

"Alessandro, look!" Feliciano pointed at something off in the distance, and Alessandro looked in that direction. He wondered how far away the thing Feliciano was pointing at was as he just couldn't see it.

"What are we looking at?" Alessandro said. He could see another team down the hall, and wondered if scaring them would be a good idea. If one of their objects was there it'd make their hunt take longer if he scared them away from it.

"There's two ghosts down the hall." Feliciano whispered. "I'm afraid they'll come after us if we go that way."

"They're students, I think..." Alessandro said. "I'm gonna go scare them with my powers."

Alessandro snuck down the hall, and stayed in the shadows hoping that'd be cover enough. Soon he was close enough to them to hear them talking. He recognised one of the kids as the Latvian freshman who could go invisible, but he wasn't sure who the other one was. Maybe a hero? He found a place where he could hide and try to scare them from.

"M-matthew, do you think our next object might be here?" The Latvian kid said. Now, what was his name again? Raivis? Yeah, Raivis sounded about right. Alessandro noted the other kid was called Matthew. He wasn't surprised Feliciano thought they were ghosts since Matthew seemed to have the potential to be nearly invisible as well.

"It might be." Matthew said. "Do you want to look in there?"

Alessandro watched the two of them and thought for a moment. He then made a noise which sounded like the wind blowing in a storm. A loud, blustery wind noise that even whistled a little as it went down the hall towards the other team. He followed that noise up with sounds that you'd think a ghost would make.

"Raivis, I think this hallway is haunted." Matthew said.

"Should we get out of here?" Raivis said. Alessandro made even more ghost noises and threw in some moaning as well to try to convince them to leave. He quickly glanced at Feliciano who seemed to be sitting back where he stopped walking, and looked to be all right.

"Yes, let's go!" Matthew said, and ran off down the hallway half-dragging Raivis behind him. Alessandro waited for them to leave, and then waved at Feliciano to come down the hallway to where he was standing. Feliciano got up and ran down the hall towards him.

"Should we move on?" Alessandro said when Feliciano had caught up. He wondered if there was any of their items for the test lying around in this area. "Or check this area for items first?"

Alessandro and Feliciano looked around the immediate area, and checked for items that were left on their list: a San Marino flag, a figurine of the Tower of Pisa, a postcard of the Three Towers of San Marino, a packet of pasta (Alessandro hoped there were two of those in the chateau, and that Lovino didn't find both of them first), a small toy Ferrari, and so on.

"Alessandro!" Feliciano said suddenly and pointed above his head. "Look up there!"

Alessandro looked in the direction Feliciano was pointing, and saw what looked to be a San Marino flag on the ceiling of the hallway! He wondered if a sonic blast could get it down without ripping it, and then looked at Feliciano. He was sure Feliciano was lighter than him.

"Ve, Feliciano." Alessandro said as he crouched down and linked his hands together to create a step. "I'll lift you up so you can grab the flag."

"Okay!" Feliciano stepped on Alessandro's hands, and Alessandro did his best to boost him high enough to get the flag on the ceiling. He'd gotten Feliciano up high enough to get the first corner free when Feliciano started to get heavy.

"If you can get the second corner, I should be able to do the rest with a sound blast." Alessandro said. He hoped it would be gentle enough to get the flag down without ripping it as he moved Feliciano to the second corner.

"Got the second corner!" Feliciano said, and Alessandro brought him back down. The flag was now half-attached to the ceiling, and half not, but was still not low enough to be grabbed from the floor. Alessandro let off a sound blast to one of the corners, and the pin holding it there fell out. Alessandro then let off a second blast, and the last corner came loose. He caught the flag as it came down, and he and Feliciano quickly folded it to add it to the backpack.

"Three items down and more to go! Let's go!" The two Italians dashed off down the hallway in search of their next item.

* * *

><p>"You'll never make it." Francis could hear Arthur saying as he balanced on a chair he'd placed on top of another chair. "What you're doing requires 12 Agility points, and you only have 7."<p>

"At least I'm trying, Arthur, which is more than you're doing." Francis said as he reached out for the flag he saw on the wall. Technically Arthur himself should be up here getting this flag since it's a St George's Cross, but no matter. "And I suppose you have the Agility points for this task?"

"No, I don't, and you should come down from there so we can figure out how to get to the bloody flag." Arthur walked over to where Francis was trying to get down the flag. "My agility points are also 7 so if we do this together we could do it."

"Not a bad ide- whoa!" Francis slipped and fell off the chair, and expected to land on the wooden floor below, but his landing place was somewhat softer, squishier, and had those brows...

"Ack!" Francis scrambled to get off of Arthur before his weight drained all of Arthur's HP, and in his panic his powers activated. Arthur's clothes suddenly began to turn a golden colour to match those eyebrows, and a look of panic crossed Arthur's face.

"Change my clothes back! My Agility Points have dropped to zero!" Arthur said as he tried and failed to turn himself over and get up. He looked almost cute lying on his back like that and trying to move, kind of like a turtle that'd flipped over on its shell with its little legs all flailing helplessly in the air. "And my HP is dangerously low too!"

"But you are so cute right now, mon ami." Francis said. Arthur had no idea just how cute he looked right now, and frankly, the Englishman was much less annoying pinned to the floor like that. He had been complaining the whole time about having low HP because he didn't get a chance to eat before they had to arrive at the chateau, and all of Francis's suggestions on how to obtain items seemed to be wrong. They can't have been completely wrong though since they now had four items stored in Francis's backpack no thanks to Arthur's complaining. "And I have an emergency cheese sandwich in my pocket if you want to increase your HP with that."

"No wonder you always smell like cheese." Arthur grumbled as Francis changed his clothes back, and then handed over the emergency sandwich which looked remarkably still edible despite spending the entire time they'd been in the mansion in Francis's pocket. Arthur accepted the sandwich and ate it though. No matter how annoyed or mad he felt at Arthur there was always a part of Francis that still wanted to be nice to him, but he had no idea why.

"You insult me over the sandwich, and then you accept it." Francis said. "You confuse me, Arthur."

"And you annoy me. I could've respawned when you squished me!"

"That'd be no great loss. This would probably go faster if I was on my own."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"All night you have done nothing but complain about the task and how I got some of the items." Francis said.

"That's because you've chosen the most stupid of ways of doing it, and you squished me."

"That was an accident!" Francis said. "If you're so smart explain how we get the next item, Rosbif."

By now, Francis was quite angry at Arthur. It was almost like he'd made up his mind not to complete the hunt because his powers were "useless", and was claiming the whole thing was a waste of time so he didn't have to face up to how he actually feels. Technically Arthur's powers were more useful than Francis's ones since he could see a person's strength and abilities in a glance, and all Francis had to go by was "safe or unsafe?"

"We still have to get down that flag, don't we?" Arthur looked up at the flag. He seemed to have calmed down a bit now. "I'm lighter than you-"

"I am NOT fat." Francis felt himself get angry again. What an impolite thing to imply!

"I never said you were! I'm just stating a fact. If I got on your shoulders we'd have enough Agility Points to get the flag." Arthur said. "Let's just get this over with so we can move on."

"Fine." Francis moved over to the chair he was standing on before as Arthur got on it. He waited for Arthur to sit on his shoulders, and grabbed his legs to hold him steady. He then walked over to the flag on the wall, and hoped he wouldn't lose balance before Arthur could take it down.

"Almost got it... got it!" Arthur said. "Let's keep searching for more items!"

"Shouldn't you get off my shoulders first?" Francis said. "That doorframe isn't high enough for you to go through it on my shoulders."

"True." Francis moved over to a chair, and Arthur got off of his shoulders. They folded up the flag and put it in Francis's backpack.

"What's left on the list?"

"A baguette, a postcard with the Palace of Versailles on it, a model of Big Ben, Morris Dancing, and a perfume bottle." Francis said. "It looks like there's five items about each of our countries, and I hope we find all of ours first."

"Let's get a move on, then!" Arthur said, and left the room with Francis following him.

* * *

><p>Trang checked the list again. She and Will had found all five of her items, and four of his. The items seemed to be related to where they're from, and Trang's last item was a postcard of Hanoi. Will's last item, however, mystified both of them. The item was simply listed as "Poi E" with nothing else to indicate any kind of meaning. The two of them had worked hard to find and get their last items, with Will growing vines to dislodge the ones that were stuck in high places. Those vines were now wrapped around Will's waist like they were a belt, but you'd only see them if he lifted his shirt.<p>

"Are you sure you don't know what 'Poi E' means?" Trang said. Surely somewhere deep in Will's mind he must have some clue what it means, or if it's the name of something like a book, or a poem, or something. "Come on, Will! It's the last item we need!"

"I'm doing my best, Trang! I know what 'Poi E' is, but I just can't remember." Will leaned against one of the walls, and he looked a little tired. Trang was feeling a little tired herself, but she knew now wasn't the time for resting.

"Do you want to take a break and think about it?" Trang said and Will shook his head stubbornly. It looked like he wanted to win this thing as much as he did, and they were so close! All they needed to do was figure out what "Poi E" meant. Trang was about to ask Will again when they suddenly heard a noise that sounded like someone chanting from elsewhere in the mansion.

"I remember what it is now!" Will pushed off of the wall and started to walk in the direction the sound was coming from. "Poi E is a song!"

Trang followed Will down the hallway, and saw the vines that were under Will's shirt coming out to run along the walls of the chateau like they were trying to help them find the item. She couldn't help but feel a little frustrated seeing Will using his powers. Her own powers were nullified due to the rules of the challenge, and being unable to use them made her feel so... so... ordinary.

They'd only gotten a little way down the hall towards the noise when they heard a louder one coming from back the way they came. Trang walked a little way back along the hallway to hear it better. It sounded a little like "help!" but she wasn't entirely sure...

"HELP!" She could hear it now, and someone was indeed calling for help!

"WILL!" She yelled down the hallway, and could see him running back down the hallway towards her. "Someone back this way is in trouble! Can you hear it too?"

"I can!" Will said, and they both ran towards the source of the yelling. As they got closer Will spoke up again. "Does that sound like Mathias to you?"

"Not sure..." Trang said as they kept running, but the closer they got, the more the voice yelling sounded like Mathias! "MATHIAS! IS THAT YOU?"

"TRANG! STOP RUNNING OR YOU'LL FALL IN TOO!" Trang immediately stopped running, and put out an arm to make sure Will stopped too. They cautiously approached a hole in the floor, and saw that it wasn't the only one. It seemed to be holes through two floors, one on top of the other. When they looked over the edge they saw Mathias waving at them from the bottom.

"How many of you are down there?" Will yelled.

"I think there's a lot of the teams down here!" Mathias yelled back.

"Why didn't anyone radio for help?" Trang yelled.

"No one wanted to lose, and... I kinda broke them all with my powers when I got mad about being trapped here!" Mathias yelled. "And... Eduard can't work out what part came from which so it'll take him a while to fix them."

"Want us to radio for help or get you out of there?" Will yelled. "And who else is down there with you?"

"There's me, Eduard, Tino, Peter, Arthur, Francis, Matthew, Raivis, and a lot more students!" Mathias yelled. "Just rescue us so we can finish our lists please!"

"I think we could rescue them. If I grow a tree trunk down to the bottom, and perhaps another one around it for hand and foot grips. The vines I have around my waist could be used to pull up anyone who's injured and can't climb." Will grinned at Trang. "What do you think?"

"I think my powers shouldn't have been nullified." Trang said. "I could've had all of them up here in half a second if I had my powers. Are you sure you have enough energy for all of that?"

Trang rifled through her backpack for food while waiting for Will to respond. Although she didn't have to eat as much now that her powers were nullified she still had food in her backpack that wasn't part of the items on the list. Will could eat that if he needed to.

"I can grow at least the first tree trunk myself. If Tino has some energy left then maybe he can meet me halfway for the second tree." Will said, and then looked down into the hole again. "OI, TINO! GOT ANY ENERGY LEFT?"

"HE DOESN'T! HE LOOKS REALLY, REALLY, TIRED!" Peter yelled.

"Okay, so Tino's probably out." Will said, and pulled out a seed that would grow into a tree. "LOOK OUT FOR THE TREE TRUNK COMING DOWN, EVERYONE!"

Trang hoped that that was enough warning for everyone to get out of the way as Will yanked off both gloves, knelt next to the big hole, and started growing a tree trunk down to the bottom of the hole.

* * *

><p>"How many more items do we need, Alessandro?" Feliciano waited as his cousin pulled out the list. He had been scared at first when they entered the chateau and the exit disappeared. The fact that the chateau was dark was also scary, but he had Alessandro to scare away the ghosts some of the other students had talked about since he came to the Academy.<p>

"Shine that flashlight onto the list so I can read it." Alessandro's glasses had slid down his nose, and he pushed them back up automatically as Feliciano aimed the flashlight at the list. "Hmm... there's only one left! We just need to find a toy Ferrari and the exit will appear!"

Alessandro put away the list again, and he and Feliciano started walking. Feliciano clung to his right arm so Alessandro wouldn't get separated from him, and leave him all alone in the dark. He tried to use the flashlight to light up everything in their path, hoping that the little toy car would magically appear in front of them, and then they could get out of here! Out where the dark wasn't so dark because the stars and the moon would light up everything!

"Feliciano." Alessandro said. Feliciano looked around and saw that he'd led him into one of the rooms in the chateau, and that he had an item in his hand. "Could you li-"

Suddenly whatever Alessandro picked up in his hand burst into life, playing a song neither of them had heard before, and they didn't know what language it was either! He let the song keep playing, and Feliciano realised it was one of someone else's items!

"Hey, Alessandro! Could we find out who owns that? We might be able to get out of here!" Feliciano said. He was feeling a lot happier thinking that the mysterious item they just found might be a way out of here. "If it belongs to someone and we get out of here we could have some pasta and have a slumber party in the student lounge and..."

"Shh. I just heard voices." Alessandro said, and Feliciano quietened down. "I think they're looking for this item, and it came from that way."

Alessandro pointed down the dark hall, and Feliciano shivered for a moment. More dark halls? But if it means getting out of here...

"Let's go!" Feliciano clung to Alessandro's arm again, and they walked down the corridor. As they walked they could hear a lot of noise and voices coming down the corridor in front of them, and eventually Feliciano saw a boy and a girl in the corridor. The boy's hair curled on the sides of his head kind of like two spirals, and the girl had long dark hair tied back so it was off of her face. She looked quite pretty.

"Ciao~!" Feliciano said to the two of them before he noticed that the boy was using his powers to grow a tree? The girl took one look at Alessandro and frowned.

"What do you want?" She glared at Alessandro. "Your noisy powers are no use here!"

"Actually, they are." The boy said without even looking up at them. "I don't have enough energy for the second tree, but Lilli could help me if she's still in the chateau. Could you call for her? Your voice can go louder than anyone else's."

Feliciano watched the boy as Alessandro yelled out Lilli's name at the top of his lungs. If anyone could get her here, he could. The boy seemed quite tired from using his powers, but the girl seemed to be fine. Were her powers taken away for tonight, and why didn't she like Alessandro? He wanted to ask, but was afraid she'd yell at him if he did.

"Hello?" He heard a voice say from the other side of the hole the boy and girl were next to, and another boy and girl appeared at the other side of the hole. The two of them had blond hair, and looked kind of similar.

"Lilli, thank goodness!" The dark haired girl said. When this was over he decided to ask her what her name was. "Can you help us out?"

"She can, but make it quick!" The blond boy said. "We have a contest to win."

"Lilli, could you glow and make my powers stronger?" The dark haired boy said, and Feliciano raised his eyebrows. That boy could get energy from light?

"Sure!" Lilli said, and started to glow. Alessandro and Feliciano moved to the edge of the hole, but made sure to stay out of the way and watched as the boy slowly made another tree grow over the first tree he grew. The second tree wrapped itself around and around the tree trunk until it was out of sight even by flashlight, and then the boy moved away from the edge of the hole to rest. Moments later Feliciano could hear noises, and eventually another blond head poked out of the hole.

"Hey, everyone!" He said, and Feliciano recognised him as Mathias, one of the other heroes.

"Keep moving, Mathias." He heard another voice say from down the hole. "Some of us want to get out of here."

While other students kept appearing out of the hole, Feliciano noticed the dark haired girl checking to see if the dark haired boy was okay, and then he yelped as the ghosts from earlier came out of the hole, and clung to Alessandro's arm again.

"Trang?" The taller ghost said. "You're okay!"

"The ghosts talk!" Feliciano hid behind Alessandro. "Alessandro, make them go away!"

"W-what?" The ghost said as the dark haired girl walked over to give him a hug. "I'm not a ghost!"

"B-but you look like one!" Feliciano said from behind Alessandro as he started to hum a tune that Feliciano recognised as the song they heard before they found their way to the big hole where the other students were trapped. Could that song scare away ghosts? "You're all pale and everything!"

"Alessandro," Feliciano said softly. "Could you use that song in the language we don't know to scare him away?"

"Song?" The ghost said.

"Don't even think about being super noisy!" Trang glared at Alessandro, but it was too late. Alessandro started singing the song as the last two students climbed out of the hole.

* * *

><p>Arthur climbed up the tree trunk behind Francis while trying not to look at Francis's butt. He didn't want to give him any more reasons to act all affectionate with him, and focused his gaze firmly on the tree trunk. His mind was filled with the voices of the other students who had climbed out of this bloody hole before them, and the damned BGM that played in his mind every second of the day. The current piece was apparently some kind of dramatic rescue BGM, but frankly, he couldn't see what was so dramatic about climbing up a tree trunk and averting his eyes from the Frog's behind. He had to admit it was a kind of nice behind, if such a thing could be considered nice, but he'd never dare say so out loud. Francis might read more into it than he should. Silly frog.<p>

Francis had gotten out of the hole, and Arthur had just reached the top when there was this sudden horrible screaming! It drowned out the dramatic rescue BGM and startled Arthur so much he nearly lost his grip on the tree! A moment later Francis's hands grabbed his and held them down on the tree trunk. Arthur glared at him, but secretly appreciated the help and he had a feeling Francis knew it.

"My team-mate falling down a hole and landing on his back wouldn't be a good look, that's all." Francis said. "Especially with our radio broken so I can't call for help."

Francis helped Arthur out of the hole just as a blur of black flew past them to grab a boy who was the source of the noise that had startled Arthur. The horrible noise shut itself off, and Arthur's usual BGM returned. The blur he saw turned out to be one of the other students dressed all in black including black gloves. He had grabbed the noisy boy by the collar, but rather than looking commanding he actually looked exhausted, and his HP and the meter that showed the strength of his superpowers were both very low.

"Where. Did. You. Hear. That. Song?" The boy said, and the boy he grabbed freaked out a tiny bit. There was another boy standing behind the noisy one who seemed to be scared of someone or something, but Arthur wasn't sure what.

"Right here!" The boy standing behind the noisy one said, and produced a tape player. He hit play, and the song the noisy boy scared Arthur with blared out of the tape player.

"That's our last item!" The boy said. "Why do you have it?"

"Well, I kind of want to get out of here and I was hoping it was someone's last item." The scared boy said, and now he was smiling. "And it was!"

"Feliciano." The noisy boy said. "You don't want to keep going and find our own last item?"

"Well, it's kind of dark, and, and," Feliciano said as the flashlight he was holding ran out of batteries and died. "The flashlight died!"

The scared boy went to hand the tape player over to the boy wearing black, and Arthur glared at him. Why should the boy in black get his last item when everyone had been trying to find their own last items for hours?

"Hey, that's not fair! We've all been searching for our last items for hours, and you're just handing his last item over?" Arthur said.

"Hey!" Another student spoke up. "We would've been still in that hole if Will and Trang hadn't heard us calling and turned up!"

"Well, we could've radioed for help, but someone broke them all." A third student said.

"HEY!" Mathias said. "It's not like any of you have never lost control of your powers!"

Arthur listened to the other students grumbling and also heard a few of them saying "that's true" to each other. He had to admit the thought of pulling out of the test and going through the portal that would be created by that last item was rather tempting, but part of him wanted to keep searching for that last item. If it was up to him he'd keep searching, but it wasn't just up to him. Francis had a say as well.

"Fine." Francis said over the grumbling of the other students. "Let him have his last item so I can go have a coffee and warm up."

"Coffee's terrible." Arthur said automatically.

"I'm aware of your love of tea over coffee, and would've made you tea."

Arthur was momentarily speechless until one of the other sidekicks spoke up.

"Let me get this straight. All of us aside from Will's team are looking for their last item?" The sidekick who spoke up wore glasses and looked like he'd be more at home in front of a computer screen than in the chateau doing this challenge. "And as far as I can tell, only one team is missing. I believe the missing team has everyone else's last item including mine."

"So these cheaters would be outside of the chateau looking like winners?" Will said. "Feliciano, can I have my last item please? I doubt we'd win this since another team has cheated."

* * *

><p>Feliciano handed Will the item, and he listened to it for a moment before crossing it off of his list. According to the rules a portal would appear that he and Trang could see, but there was none. Well, that idea was no good, it seems.<p>

"Hel-lo, teachers!" Will said. "We have all of our items so where is our bloody portal!" Will couldn't believe this. After hours of searching and several minutes of argument gaining that last item didn't make an exit appear? What a rip off this "Test of Courage" was!

"Yeah!" Trang said. "Give us our portal because I'm really hungry!"

Will could hear Trang's stomach growling now, kind of like it did when she was really, really, hungry because her powers burned up energy so fast...

"Trang!" Will said. "Make a portal to the grounds in front of the chateau for everyone!"

"I can't!" Trang said as her stomach growled yet again. "My powers are nullified!"

"You're hungry, aren't you?" Will said. "You only make that noise when you're really hungry, so just try!"

Trang looked like she was concentrating, and a portal suddenly appeared in the wall leading to outside the chateau. The students started running through the portal to the outside, possibly to go deal to the team of cheaters. Eventually all of the students left in the chateau had gone through the portal leaving just Will and Trang there.

"You okay?" Will said.

"Yeah." Trang said. "How about you?"

"I'm tired but all right." Will said. "Let's go see if we won anything!"

Will and Trang walked out of the portal and were back in front of the chateau, and saw a crowd in one part of the grounds. Will guessed that was where the team who cheated were as he and Trang walked over to the teachers to hand in their items and completed list.

"Well done!" The teacher said as they handed over the items, and Will recognised him as the teacher who slept while "supervising" his and Trang's afternoon in detention. He looked surprisingly awake, and seemed to know what Will was about to ask. "Before you ask, I'm nocturnal."

Will wanted to go over and see what was happening to the cheaters, but before he could the coach blew his whistle to get everyone's attention. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to listen to what the coach had to say.

"Only two teams managed to complete their list, but neither team will be winning the weekend trip to the mainland!" The students all started chatting among themselves and the coach had to blow his whistle several times before they quietened down. "The team that tried to rig the Test of Courage in their favour are disqualified, and will not enjoy the modified prize due to their actions. The rest of you will be enjoying the modified prize which is a day trip to the mainland next Saturday! Now everyone is to go straight to their dorms and get some sleep. Classes tomorrow morning have NOT been cancelled."

The crowd of students started moving back towards the school and Will could hear a few different conversations as he walked with them ranging from one wanting a slumber party and pasta, another grumbling about being promised cake and getting nothing, someone else yelling at Mathias because his radio breaking stunt also damaged their cellphone, someone calling someone else their cute little turtle and the sound of that person being punched (Will made a mental note to see who had a black eye tomorrow), and one guy getting blasted by one of the girls because he was the one who stole everyone's items.

Finally the dorm building was in sight, and as soon as Will entered his dorm room he lay down on his bed without even bothering to change his clothes. In spite of the cheating and everything tonight had been a lot of fun, and he hoped they'd plan something like that again before the school year was over. Maybe something at the beach or in the training maze... Will yawned, and kicked off his shoes before curling up on his bed and falling asleep.


End file.
